Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews

Gobble, Gobble

Gobble, Gobble

Picture Book
For ages 5 to 7
Dawn Publications, 2011   ISBN: 978-1584691495

It is spring, and Jenny is in the woods exploring when she sees strange prints in the mud and some feathers on the ground. She hears a “funny gobbling sound,” and when she peers around a tree, she sees a flock of turkeys looking for “seeds to eat.” Some days later, she sees the tom turkeys strutting around with their tail feathers fanned out, and the hens are scraping at the ground to make shallow nests.

In the summer, the turkeys’ eggs hatch, and Jenny sees the hens leading their babies around. Then in the fall, the turkeys roost in trees to get away from the frozen, cold, and often slippery, ground. In winter, will the turkeys slide down the snowy hill as Jenny and her friends do?

In this fact filled picture book, Cathryn Falwell shows children what wild turkeys are like, using a bouncy rhyming text to tell the story of turkey behavior from season to season. At the back of the book readers will find Jenny’s turkey journal. Here she provides readers with further information about wild turkey history, conservation, and biology. Jenny also suggests three activities that children can try that will help them to better appreciate the natural world around them.